Former President Donald Trump, the son of an immigrant mother and descendant of an immigrant grandfather, recently challenged the “Blackness” of Vice President Kamala Harris. He did so even though race is a superficial concept, based on characteristics such as skin color, facial features and other physical attributes. As a scientific concept, it has been thoroughly debunked.
During most of American history, the concept of “colored” varied from state to state under the law, with nonsense characterizations like the one drop rule, the one-eighth rule and a variety of other perverse permutations. These laws were used to deny people of color the rights and privileges provided primarily to white male Christians.
Two nationally significant legal stories spread across newspapers on Aug. 2. They flew in opposite directions and reflected opposite kinds of legal leadership and imperatives. The stories carried important meaning for every lawyer—indeed, every citizen—as to what it takes to protect our constitutional republic from the assault former President Donald Trump and many close to him have waged against it over nearly a decade.
Indeed, the lesson that the Aug. 2 stories tell encapsulates the key political-legal battle of our time: the effort to tear down the norms, standards, and guardrails of constitutionalism versus the power of legal institutions to stand, if defended, as bulwarks of freedom and stability.
Events are now occurring at a breathtaking pace that leaves us in a perpetual cycle of breaking news and ramped-up emotions. Yet, within this maelstrom, our north star must be the rule of law — and protecting it when endangered.
The rule of law is endangered when a presidential candidate is nearly assassinated at his own rally by a 20-year-old armed with a semi-automatic rifle, whose accuracy killed a father shielding his family. It is further endangered by those who use this tragedy for political advantage, casting blame in the absence of a known motive as to why an unstable young man with access to a gun wreaked havoc on the country.
Another lawyer involved in actions to undermine the results of the 2020 and 2022 elections is now facing calls for professional discipline.
Attorney Kurt Olsen, who counseled former President Donald Trump in his attempt to use the U.S. Justice Department to overturn his 2020 election loss, is at the center of an ethics complaint filed by pro-democracy groups last week.
Pro-Democracy groups are calling for an investigation into misconduct against attorney Kurt Olsen for his role in attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 and 2022 elections.
The States United Democracy Center and Lawyers Defending American Democracy filed ethics complaints against him with the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission and the District of Columbia’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel on Thursday.
Recent Scandals Reveal Weakness of the New SCOTUS Code of Conduct
THE RULES DON’T APPLY TO THE SUPREME COURT. That’s the message Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have sent with their responses to the cascading scandals impugning their independence, nonpartisanship, and personal integrity.
It is also, as a legal matter, true. Justices Thomas and Alito are immune from the restrictions placed on other federal judges to protect the judiciary—the only rules that bind them are ones they wrote for themselves.
Judge approves 3-year law license suspension for Jenna Ellis, former Trump lawyer
The Colorado law license of Jenna Ellis, previously an attorney for former President Donald Trump, will be suspended for three years under the terms of an agreement approved by a judge Tuesday.
Gillian Feiner, senior counsel at States United Democracy Center, which along with Lawyers Defending American Democracy in December had formally requested that Colorado officials pursue disciplinary action against Ellis after her guilty plea in Georgia, issued a statement Tuesday after the suspension was announced.
Will Justice Delayed Be Justice Denied? Update on the TX Bar Disciplinary Complaints
The current focus on the Trump criminal trial in New York (along with the other pending criminal trials and potentially dangerous U.S. Supreme Court ruling on immunity)—like so many Trump atrocities that produce the almighty “engagement” sought by the corporate media—can make us forget that Trump had the assistance of dozens of cronies and co-conspirators in his bid to overturn the 2020 election.
One Rhode Islander’s role in defending American democracy
If you've been around Rhode Island legal, political, and civic circles over the last couple of decades, there's a good chance you've crossed paths with R. Kelly Sheridan.
He’s a retired partner at Roberts, Carroll, Feldstein & Peirce, where he was one of the best-known lobbyists in the state, and is a former president of the Rhode Island Bar Association and chairman of the Champlin Foundation.
Restoring Confidence in Elections: The ALI’s Timely Statement on Ethical Standards
The hotly contested 2020 Presidential Election was filled with complaints—not only about the election results, but also about the voting process itself. Aggregated and escalated, those complaints led not only to litigation, but also to doubts in some quarters about the reliability of the results the process produced. As we look ahead to November, it is likely that the voting process will again be severely tested unless confidence-inducing changes to the process are made.
How Not to Restore Public Confidence in the Supreme Court
"Because of people’s already much-depleted confidence in the Court, and because of all that’s at stake for the nation in Trump v. United States, Justice Thomas’s refusal to recuse may well be not simply one more blow to public confidence in the Court, but a blow with the potential to damage that confidence beyond repair."
Texas bar should act soon on Sidney Powell case
One by one, the lawyers who helped Donald Trump try to steal the 2020 election are being held accountable. The most recent example came a few weeks ago. A California judge recommended permanent disbarment for John Eastman for his role in devising so-called legal strategy to overturn the election.
Disinformation underlies bans on care for transgender adolescents
In the past three years, 23 states have passed legislation that prohibits physicians and other health care providers from providing gender affirming health care to transgender minors. These laws constitute an extreme, unprecedented attack on transgender adolescents, their families and the medical providers who care for them.
No Candor, No Credibility: Hiring RNC Ronna Is a Flub for NBC
NBC’s hiring of Ronna McDaniel, the recently ousted chair of the Republican National Committee, as a commentator is a disservice to viewers and to its own journalists. It is also yet another in a long line of disturbing examples of how political misinformation is being normalized. The network should not be able to get away with its whitewashing of McDaniel.
Ethics Panels Dismiss Complaints Against Former Lawyer for Jan. 6 Witness
The witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, declined to cooperate with the inquiries by repeating to investigators the allegations she had made to Congress about Mr. Passantino, whom she replaced as her lawyer before testifying publicly to the House Jan. 6 committee. Mr. Passantino has denied the allegations that he pressured her.
The Florida Legislature’s obsession with communism is so 1952 | Editorial
An organization called Lawyers Defending American Democracy has documented anti-democratic trends in Florida, Arizona, Iowa, Tennessee and Texas.
The report faulted Florida for curbing voting by mail; anti-diversity policies in schools and universities; infringing on teaching race, sexism and slavery; crackdowns on undocumented immigrants and gender-related medical care; 15-week and 6-week abortion bans[...]"
Interview with LDAD
The Legal Ethics Roundup is a "Monday morning tour" of all things related to lawyer and judicial ethics with University of Houston law professor Renee Knake Jefferson. In this feature, Renee explores the work of LDAD with three members of the organization: Gary Ratner, Cheryl Niro, and executive director Lauren Stiller Rikleen.
Alabama, religious freedom and frozen embryos
LDAD Board Member James McHugh authors this timely and important article about the concurring opinion of Alabama Chief Justice Tom Parker in LePage v. The Center for Reproductive Medicine, P.C. In it he cautions. "It is difficult enough for the government to deal in democratic fashion with the often-difficult issues that lie at the intersection of individual autonomy, constitutional rights and public policy. Injecting religion into that process dramatically reduces the likelihood that the process will continue to produce useful results."
On Social Justice and Defending American Democracy
Lauren Stiller Rikleen, our Executive Director joins this podcast to speak on “Her Honor – Stories of Challenge and Triumph from Women Judges,” along with the work being undertaken by Lawyers Defending Democracy. The podcast's host, Stephen Seckler, is an attorney interested in the ideas shaping the legal industry and attorneys who have done interesting and sometimes unconventional things with their careers.
Universities cannot be bystanders in these troubled times
Lauren Stiller Rikleen, our Executive Director and the editor of “Her Honor – Stories of Challenge and Triumph from Women Judges” writes for The Fulcrum advocating for leaders in academia to speak out with moral clarity in times of crisis. The article argues, "academic principles of free expression should not prevent a university from speaking with unequivocal clarity in matters of moral imperative. … Indeed, the highest calling of higher education should be the ability to both model courageous behavior and encourage civil discourse in ways that can serve as conflict-resolution lessons throughout life."
Watchdog groups push for disbarment of ex-Trump attorney Jenna Ellis over Georgia charges
Watchdog groups called for former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis’s disbarment in a letter Friday.
“We, together with the additional signatories below, write to urge the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel (OARC) to promptly commence a formal disciplinary proceeding against Jenna Ellis seeking her disbarment in light of her recent guilty plea to a felony in Georgia,” the letter from Lawyers Defending American Democracy (LDAD) and Stand United Democracy Center reads.
Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis faces Colorado disbarment complaint following guilty plea
States United Democracy Center and Lawyers Defending American Democracy said they filed the complaint with the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, which oversees the practice of law in Colorado. States United Democracy Center filed a previous complaint against Ellis in May 2022 that led to a public censure for her conduct.
Sandra Day O’Connor’s Legacy: A Beacon of Judicial Restraint and Independence in the Supreme Court
Justice O’Connor has secured her legacy as an independent Justice who respected precedent and had an instinctive understanding of where the Court should seek common ground. As public trust and confidence in the Supreme Court diminish with each radical decision, one can only hope it is not too late for the lessons of her legacy to be learned and adopted.
OPINION: A dictator on "day one": The time to push back on Trump is now
"Those who believe in a constitutional republic governed by the rule of law need not wait until election day to teach Trump that in America, dictatorship is not what power can do. Public response can help sidetrack a man who would be king, on “day one” and beyond."
An Inflection Point for the Legal Profession
"Even the strongest democracy can be breached by unchallenged assaults."
In a seminal piece for the organization, LDAD's Executive Director Lauren Stiller Rikleen calls on lawyers to bridge typical partisan divides and emerge from this inflection point in history with our democracy intact.
We Can’t Step Backwards on Progress Toward Colorblind Justice
Former Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court Peggy Quince reflects on her journey toward a legal career and the American promise that the judiciary be fair and impartial.
"For those of us who have lived through segregation and overt racism, what is happening in today’s political environment is living life in flashback."
The ‘brains’ behind fake Trump electors was once a liberal Democrat
About 10 days after his affiliation with the Napoli firm was announced internally, a group called Lawyers Defending American Democracy filed an ethics complaint against him in New York, asking a state grievance committee to investigate his conduct and “impose appropriate sanctions.” Tribe was among dozens of high-profile legal figures who signed the complaint.
An Advocate for Democracy
Lauren Stiller Rikleen is the executive director of Lawyers Defending American Democracy, whose mission is to galvanize the legal profession to protect democracy and the rule of law. Shc recently published Her Honor: Stories of Challenges and Triumph from Women Judges.
Moore v. Harper Affirms American Democracy and Rule of Law
There’s a reason that Moore v. Harper, the independent state legislature theory case, generated almost 70 amicus briefs in the US Supreme Court: it presented a profound threat to our democracy and the rule of law.
Moore is a victory for free and fair American elections and the rule of law over partisan politics. It’s also a victory for principled constitutional interpretation and the cohesiveness of the Supreme Court.
Should Trump-allied lawyers be punished for 2020 election suits? The jury is still out.
Lauren Stiller Rikleen, executive director of the group Lawyers Defending American Democracy, said the bar associations and disciplinary boards set up in the states historically have handled complaints from clients over money and representation. “For us it’s about maintaining trust in the legal profession,” said Rikleen. “You can’t have trust in the legal system if attorneys can lie in open court without being held accountable.”
DeSantis’s War on ‘Woke’ Dooms History to Repeat
Former Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court Peggy A. Quince writes that Gov. Ron DeSantis has hijacked the terms “woke” and “critical race theory” for political purposes, when these terms are meant to train our focus on our nation’s full history, including issues that have plagued people of color.
Texas Attorneys Back Bar's Disciplinary Action Against State AG
The State Bar of Texas' ethics lawsuit against Lone Star State Attorney General Ken Paxton after his attempt to challenge the 2020 presidential election results now has the support of 16 Texas attorneys and the nonpartisan action group Lawyers Defending American Democracy, who filed an amicus brief supporting the State Bar's Commission for Lawyer Discipline.
The Supreme Court needs a code of ethics. Here's one to consider.
Using the rules applicable to all other federal judges as a baseline, our organizations’ proposed code includes: clear guidelines for recusal; prohibitions against specific kinds of conduct that create an appearance of impartiality; more rigorous obligations for disclosure; and standards for transparent decision-making.
Unjust Laws and Court Decisions Overshadow Women’s History Month
Looking back on this Women’s History Month, there still isn’t much opportunity to celebrate. Women around the country face an onslaught of laws and court decisions that reduce or eliminate rights that prior generations fought hard to achieve. If anything, this month should have served as a call to action.
ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice: Chair Chat with Lauren Stiller Rikleen
ABA Section Chair Juan R. Thomas and Rikleen Institute for Strategic Leadership President & Founder and Lawyers Defending American Democracy Executive Director Lauren Stiller Rikleen discuss 'Her Honor – Stories of Challenge and Triumph from Women Judges' and Women’s History Month.
The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell
Using excerpts from LDAD’s ethics complaint as the basis for discussion, Lawrence O’Donnell and his guests, Professor Stephen Gillers and attorney Neal Katyal, engaged in a substantive and thoughtful conversation that clearly explained why the allegations against Mr. Passantino matter to the rule of law. The discussion of LDAD’s ethics complaint begins at 5:53 into the segment.
Proposed Ethics Code for Supreme Court Escalates Campaign To Bind the Justices
The release of a “Model Code of Conduct for U.S. Supreme Court Justices” by two good-government groups — Project for Government Oversight and Lawyers Defending Democracy — brings into sharp focus the growing effort to regulate the justices, a push that the Nine has thus far resisted.
Clarence and Ginni Thomas could be sidelined under Supreme Court 'model' ethics code
A proposal by outside interest groups for the Supreme Court to adopt a new "model" ethics code could thrust Justice Clarence Thomas and his spouse, Ginni, further into the political limelight. The proposed guidelines from so-called independent government watchdogs Project on Government Oversight and LDAD would put in place "more stringent guidelines for recusal."
Outside groups take a first stab at a Supreme Court ethics code
Finally, somebody has taken a try at writing a Supreme Court ethics code, though not the court itself. The justices reportedly have discussed the subject but apparently have not reached any agreement on what, if anything, to do about it.
Now, however, two groups have written what they call a model code of conduct for the Supreme Court. And it's getting generally favorable reviews. The groups are the Project on Government Oversight, a nonpartisan, independent government watchdog, and the Lawyers Defending American Democracy.
FTC Endorses Groups' Model Ethics Code for Supreme Court
Fix the Court is endorsing the Model Code of Conduct for U.S. Supreme Court Justices released today by Project On Government Oversight and Lawyers Defending American Democracy that, if adopted, would set reasonable expectations for the justices’ conduct on and off the bench and bring them in line with judges across the country in having a formal document to refer to when faced with tough ethical questions.
Trump Attorney Could Face Disbarment Over Cassidy Hutchinson Testimony
A group of three dozen attorneys affiliated with the center-left organization Lawyers Defending American Democracy filed a complaint with the Washington, D.C., bar on Monday, accusing Stefan Passantino of pressuring Cassidy Hutchinson to provide false testimony to members of Congress.
Ex-Trump ethics lawyer may face disbarment for allegedly trying to influence Hutchinson testimony
Hutchinson, who was a top aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, provided damning information during the House committees January 6 probe and revealed that her previous lawyer, Stefan Passantino, had tried to influence her testimony and encouraged her to withhold information from the committee.
Fmr. Bar Heads Want Ex-WH Atty Disbarred Over Jan. 6 Probe
A group of past District of Columbia and American Bar Association presidents on Monday joined calls for the disbarment of former Trump White House attorney accused of urging a staffer to lie to Congress.
First lawyer who advised Jan. 6 witness Cassidy Hutchinson should face ethics probe, group tells regulators
Hutchinson had testified that Passantino, a former lawyer in the White House counsel’s office, told her to downplay her knowledge of events before the attack and told her that: “The less you remember, the better,” according to prior coverage by Reuters, which obtained a transcript of the testimony.
Group Seeks Disbarment of a Trump-Aligned Lawyer for a Key Jan. 6 Witness
Prominent lawyers filed a scathing ethics complaint against Stefan Passantino, who represented Cassidy Hutchinson in the early stages of the House committee’s investigation.
Federalist Society’s Influence on Courts Is Bad for Democracy
Peggy Quince and Lauren Stiller Rikleen of Lawyers Defending American Democracy examine the Federalist Society’s influence over state and federal judicial selection. They say originalist judges are problematic for democracy by looking to what the framers would have done.
Lawyers Group Asks Court to Punish an Author of Trump Electors Scheme
An ethics complaint in New York against Kenneth Chesebro is the latest example of legal troubles for lawyers who helped Donald J. Trump try to overturn the 2020 election.
A group of prominent attorneys on Wednesday asked attorney regulators in New York to investigate lawyer Kenneth Chesebro in connection with former U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 electoral loss to Joe Biden.
Supporters of Army Col. Yevgeny “Eugene” Vindman are urging the White House to allow the Pentagon whistleblower to retire at his current rank when he retires Wednesday, acknowledging unfair treatment which he has received in recent years.
Both Vindman brothers have become politically polarizing figures since Trump’s first impeachment trial, where the former president was ultimately acquitted of charges that he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2019 to help with political attacks against Biden in exchange for foreign aid.
President Biden is facing calls to allow Col. Yevgeny “Eugene” Vindman, who alongside his twin brother Alexander blew the whistle on former President Trump’s July 2019 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to retire with the title of colonel.
Gary Ratner, LDAD's co-founder, authors an opinion piece repudiating Republican Florida state Rep. Anthony Sabatini assertion that Liz Cheney is not "smart" for speaking out against former president Donald Trump’s Big Lie.
Lawyers for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will argue Wednesday in court that a judge should drop a disciplinary case filed against him by the State Bar of Texas alleging he knowingly lied and attempted to mislead the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to overturn the 2020 election results.
Religious liberty means that all religions are able to thrive in harmony. It does not mean that a majority of SCOTUS justices who share a religion should be able to demand that other religions subjugate their own beliefs to the majority’s will.
Even though Bannon's conviction is for contempt, rather than for an underlying crime, the principle remains the same. For more than two centuries, America has been a society bound by the rule of law, not the rule of men -- and we need to keep it that way.
“Dereliction of duty” is a serious accusation, and based on what has already emerged in the committee’s hearings, one that fits. It is beyond question that President Trump was aware in real time of the violence at the Capitol and that he did nothing for hours on end to call off the mob he had helped to summon. So argues, our colleagues Dennis Aftergut and Eugene Fidell.
From its historic rollback of abortion rights to limiting regulations on power plants' carbon dioxide emissions, the U.S. Supreme Court is stirring up controversy and anger. LDAD's Lauren Rikleen weighs in.
Prior to this term, Americans mostly were comfortable with the idea that the US Supreme Court would ensure their constitutional rights were protected against government overreach, say James F. McHugh and Lauren Stiller Rikleen of Lawyers Defending American Democracy.
The unprecedented leak of an apparent draft opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court indicating it is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade should be a wake-up call to the legal profession, says leadership consultant Lauren Stiller Rikleen. Sitting on the sidelines is no longer an option, she writes, as the fundamental right of women to make decisions affecting their own bodies is at risk.
This Houston Chronicle article provides an update regarding the status of a complaint filed by Lawyers Defending American Democracy and 16 Texas lawyers in July, 2021.
It is particularly painful to watch not only war crimes committed by the Russian assault on the Ukrainian people, but the return in the 21st century of an unjustified attack in a region where civilians have endured a history of ethnic cleansing, mass casualties, and genocide.
The country deserves a confirmation process for Judge Jackson that is incisive and informative. Americans will have a crucial opportunity to watch the interplay of difficult dynamics that include politics, bias, and entrenched institutions.
Deep-seated biases are evident in commentary questioning whether President Biden’s vow to appoint a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court conflicts with finding the most qualified jurist for the role, says leadership consultant Lauren Stiller Rikleen.
Data shows that our democracy is “backsliding” and our rule of law is in decline. Yet our nation’s lawyers—the profession most trained to help—largely remain on the sidelines instead of taking a stance.
A legal organization filed an ethics complaint on Thursday seeking to have a lawyer, John Eastman, investigated for advising former President Trump in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Eastman wrote a now infamous memo that suggested then-Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to reject electors from key battleground states that flipped blue for President Joe Biden, resulting in Trump's Electoral College loss.
The petitioners claim that Eastman’s effort to subvert the will of the voters amounts to a violation of California Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(c), which prohibits a lawyer to “engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or reckless or intentional misrepresentation.”
A lawyers’ group has filed the third ethics complaint against Trump lawyer John Eastman with the California bar, alleging misconduct when he colluded with others in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and keep Donald Trump in office for a second term.
More than 1,300 signers in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia have signed in support of the complaint, which asks the State Bar of California to investigate and, if appropriate, sanction Mr. Eastman for violations of the California Rules of Professional Conduct.
A legal group filed a bar complaint against conservative attorney John Eastman on Thursday claiming he violated legal ethics rules while serving as an attorney for former President Donald Trump.
“We’re lawyers. If we’re not speaking up for this issue, who will?” says Lauren Stiller Rikleen of Lawyers Defending American Democracy, a group pushing for more attorneys and firms to take action against the restrictions.
Bloomberg Law has published an op-ed by LDAD steering committee members James McHugh, John Montgomery, and interim Executive Director Lauren Rikleen. The piece considers the fate of former Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark, who is the target of LDAD's most recent ethics complaint.
Jeffrey Clark, a former top environmental lawyer at the Trump justice department accused of plotting with Trump to undermine the 2020 election results in Georgia and other states, is facing ethics investigations in Washington that could lead to possible disbarment, as well as a watchdog inquiry that might result in a criminal referral.
A group of legal heavyweights on Tuesday asked the disciplinary panel of the D.C. Court of Appeals to investigate a former Department of Justice (DOJ) official who allegedly sought to use his official position in the federal government to overturn former President Trump’s election defeat.
A group of prominent attorneys on Tuesday filed an ethics complaint against Jeffrey Bossert Clark, a former top Justice Department official who is under investigation for allegedly plotting to help former President Donald Trump overturn the 2020 presidential election.
The former head of the U.S. Department of Justice's civil and environment divisions during the Trump administration should face serious sanctions for his "extraordinary" and "unethical" conduct during the 2020 presidential election.
In DC, a group called Lawyers Defending American Democracy demands accountability for Jeffrey Clark, who attempted to persuade his bosses to send a letter to election officials in Georgia — and then the rest of the swing states — urging them to let the legislature override the will of the voters.
The State Bar of Texas has agreed to investigate Attorney General Ken Paxton after four former state bar presidents complained that his support of a lawsuit to overturn the 2020 presidential election should prevent him from practicing law in the state.
The State Bar of Texas has agreed to investigate an ethics complaint filed against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R). In a letter, the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel of the State Bar of Texas told complainant Gershon Gary Ratner, co-founder of LDAD, that his late July ethics complaint–filed along with 15 other Lone Star State attorneys–contained facts alleging that Paxton had engaged in professional misconduct.
A group of 16 lawyers who filed an ethics complaint against Attorney General Ken Paxton said Monday that the state bar was looking into its professional misconduct claim against the sitting attorney general. The group includes four former presidents of the State Bar of Texas and was organized by the group Lawyers Defending American Democracy.
A 31-page complaint was filed last week with the State Bar of Texas by 16 Texas attorneys, including four past presidents of the State Bar of Texas, as well as legal scholars and legal-ethics experts.
Gershon Ratner, co-founder of LDAD, explained the lawsuit did not have "standing," as the Supreme Court inevitably determined. Ratner described Paxton's lawsuit as "a prescription for an autocratic president to perpetuate his power indefinitely against the will of the voters."
Sixteen Texas lawyers, including four former State Bar of Texas presidents, have filed a complaint urging bar regulators to suspend or permanently disbar Texas Attorney General Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. from practice.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has bigger problems than a bar complaint. Most notably, he’s under indictment for securities fraud and is facing a whistleblower allegations from his own staff that he took bribes and abused his office. And still, demands for your ouster from the legal profession by 31 eminent professionals, including four past presidents of the state bar, is never a good look.
Asserting Paxton has brought “dishonor” to his fellow Texas lawyers and the legal profession, the group of 16 prominent Texas lawyers and the group Lawyers Defending American Democracy said in the complaint that Paxton has engaged in a pattern of “serious violations” of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.
Four former presidents of the State Bar of Texas are part of a group of lawyers who on Wednesday urged the bar to reprimand Attorney General Ken Paxton for attempting to overturn presidential election results and allegedly encouraging participation in the Jan. 6 Captiol riot.
A nonpartisan group of lawyers released a statement on Monday in opposition to the deployment of non-federalized National Guard troops to the border by South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), concluding that the states are “way out of their lane.”
If privately funded commandeering of the armed forces to enforce Tucker Carlson’s fever dreams sounds like a dystopian nightmare, then you are paying the appropriate amount of attention. Lawyers Defending American Democracy thinks this is a problem too, highlighting the disturbing conceit that patrolling an international border is “state” business as opposed to a federal prerogative with massive foreign policy implications.
Giuliani’s troubles with the appellate division of the Supreme Court of New York began last January, when [...] Lawyers Defending American Democracy, presented a detailed complaint alleging that Giuliani “knowingly propagated a false narrative of election fraud to delegitimize ... Biden’s presidential victory and to undermine public confidence in the national electoral process.”
A group of attorneys called Lawyers Defending American Democracy called on a New York disciplinary panel to immediately suspend Giuliani’s law license pending an investigation.
Giuliani’s claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election have landed him as a co-defendant in multiple defamation cases[.]
Too few lawyers have entered the fray to protect and defend the rule of law, let alone critique or hold accountable lawyers and elected officials who participated in the corruption of the Justice Department and the efforts to nullify the results of the 2020 election.
“Gross misconduct by members of the bar — be they private attorneys or the Attorney General of the United States — seriously stains the reputation of the legal profession with the general public, and also, no doubt, tempts other lawyers to skirt ethical boundaries."
As corporate leaders continue a public pressure campaign against changes to Georgia’s voting law that have sparked a national debate, the country’s largest law firms so far are staying on the sidelines.
Lawyers should use their powerful and influential platforms to advocate for the protection of the rule of law and to fight against voter suppression efforts in the United States, according to an open letter signed by Paul Weiss’ chairman and hundreds of other attorneys.
The national organization Lawyers Defending American Democracy has issued an Open Letter calling on law firms, bar associations and law schools to devote resources to protecting and expanding voter rights in the midst of efforts in state legislatures around the country to curtail access to the polls, including new restrictions passed in the state of Georgia.
Jennifer Rodgers, member of the City Bar’s Task Force on the Rule of Law and CNN legal analyst, speaks with Christine Chung, a trial and appellate attorney, former federal prosecutor and steering committee member of Lawyers Defending American Democracy about disciplinary complaints against Rudy Giuliani.
The complaints against Mr. Giuliani allege serious misconduct,” said the city bar association in an 11-page report, and they “appear to be substantiated by extensive evidence—consisting in large part of Mr. Giuliani’s own statements.
The New York City Bar Association backs separate ethics complaints filed in January by former New York State Bar Association president Michael Miller and by the bipartisan nonprofit Lawyers Defending American Democracy that contend Giuliani intentionally and repeatedly crossed ethical and legal lines.
The complaints against Mr. Giuliani allege serious misconduct,” said the city bar association in an 11-page report, and they “appear to be substantiated by extensive evidence—consisting in large part of Mr. Giuliani’s own statements.
“Not a single word in that amendment, or in any other, gives the vice president any role whatsoever in choosing which votes to count let alone the extraordinary, unilateral power to select who the next president should be, regardless of the outcome of votes in the various states,” the group said in a statement in January.
Donald Trump tried to steal the election and prevent the peaceful transfer of power. And 43 Republican senators said that’s OK when they voted to acquit him in the impeachment trial. It was time to “stop the steal,” as the former president’s allies so often shout. But it was the Senate that refused.
This February, we mark Black History Month at a time of sharpened focus on institutional racism, the Black Lives Matter movement and a raging pandemic that has disproportionately impacted minority communities. Read the latest opinion piece by LDAD committee member Lauren Stiller Rikleen.
More than 3,100 lawyers, including a former Attorney General, 14 ex-federal judges and three dozen former prosecutors at the office Rudy Giuliani once led, have joined a call for his law license to be revoked.
New York State Bar Association leaders and academics hit Rudy Giuliani with an ethics complaint Thursday, joining others in calling on the bar to suspend the former New York City mayor’s license and investigate potential professional violations for persistently touting false voter fraud claims while spearheading ex-President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Dozens of prominent lawyers have signed a formal complaint seeking the suspension of Rudolph W. Giuliani’s law license — the latest and loudest in a series of calls to censure him for his actions as President Donald J. Trump’s personal attorney.
A national lawyers group on Thursday filed an ethics complaint against Rudy Giuliani that asked a New York court panel to suspend the Trump ally’s law license and undertake a review of his role in promoting false election fraud claims that some argue fueled the insurrection at the Capitol.
A legal advocacy group called Thursday for Rudy Giuliani to be investigated and potentially lose his license to practice law, filing an ethics complaint against the attorney with the Grievance Committee of the New York State Bar after the former New York City mayor led former President Donald Trump’s legal campaign to overturn the election and pushed baseless election fraud claims.
A lawyers’ group filed an ethics complaint against Rudy Giuliani with New York’s courts, calling for him to be investigated and his law license suspended over his work promoting former President Donald Trump’s false allegations over the 2020 election.
A group of prominent lawyers has asked New York’s judiciary to suspend Rudy Giuliani’s law licence for making false claims in post-election lawsuits and urging Donald Trump’s supporters to engage in “trial by combat” shortly before they stormed the US Capitol.
A national group of lawyers filed an ethics complaint against Rudy Giuliani on Thursday, calling on the state of New York to suspend his law license following the efforts to undermine the 2020 election and spread lies from Donald Trump about widespread voter fraud causing his presidential reelection loss.
“The debate over a second Trump impeachment has underlined the false equivalence that brought about Trump’s election four years ago. Some pundits and politicians argue that, with mere days remaining in Trump’s interminable term, it is time to forget about accountability.”
Lawyers Defending American Democracy (LDAD), a group that claims to represent 5,000 lawyers nationwide, has publicly asked for disciplinary bodies responsible for overseeing lawyers to censure Republican Texas Representative Louie Gohmert and any other lawyers who supported Gohmert’s lawsuit seeking to overturn the results of the presidential election in favor of President Donald Trump.
Rarely, if ever, has a president wound up his term of office with as many people thinking ill of him as will be the case when Donald Trump returns to private life. The grave flaws of his administration have already been chronicled. What hasn’t been much noticed, however, is the positive impact he has had on one important part of American life: public engagement.
It was a ‘specious suit’ with ‘absurd’ premise, and the attorneys involved, including the Tyler congressman, should be punished, Lawyers Defending American Democracy says.
LDAD Co-Founder Scott Harshbarger & Dennis Aftergut caution that “those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Follow the link below to read their latest Opinion piece for The Hill.
L. Scott Harshbarger doesn’t mince words in condemning the attorneys who have spearheaded President Trump’s failed efforts to undo the results of the 2020 election. “Many lawyers and their clients have tried to inject politics and partisan self-interest into this and achieve a result which is essentially a coup,” the former two-term attorney general says.
“President Trump’s barrage of litigation is a pretext for a campaign to undermine public confidence in the outcome of the 2020 election, which inevitably will subvert constitutional democracy,” read the open letter compiled by the group Lawyers Defending American Democracy.
LDAD Co-founder Scott Harshbarger joined the the Bill Press Podcast to discuss why the eighteen Attorney Generals who joined Texas AG Paxton’s now dismissed lawsuit to overturn the election should be disciplined and sanctioned. Along with host Bill Press, Scott is joined by Les Francis, former Deputy White House Chief of Staff for Jimmy Carter.
LDAD Steering Committee member Eugene R. Fidell suggests actions Congress could institute to begin reforming the Presidential pardon.
Of the 126 House Republicans who signed the brief supporting the frivolous Trumpian Supreme Court lawsuit, 32 are lawyers. The bar should sanction.
LDAD Steering Committee member Dennis Aftergut authors a letter published by the New York Times on the importance of civic virtue.
LDAD Steering Committee member Eugene R. Fidell’s latest op-ed reads in part, “Scorched earth is what a nation’s military forces do in combat operations against an invader’s forces. It is not what an elected government in a democratic country does when it is voted from office.”
LDAD co-founder Scott Harsbarger and LDAD Steering Committee members Lauren Stiller Rikleen, and Dennis Aftergut argue that if disciplinary authorities do not address President Trump’s attorneys’ ethical violations, the rules of professional conduct will be regarded as a meaningless standard to other lawyers and to the public.
The Dallas Morning News ran a story on our latest call for bar condemnation and disciplinary action against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the initiator of the dangerous and frivolous Supreme Court petition.
“More than 1,500 lawyers — including law professors, retired judges, and former heads of bar associations — issued a public letter calling the actions of Giuliani and the other attorneys pushing these baseless claims “a disgrace.” The signees urged disciplinary bodies to investigate their actions, and bar associations to publicly condemn them.”
More than 1,500 attorneys have signed an open letter calling on bar associations to condemn President Trump’s campaign attorneys and urging bar disciplinary authorities to investigate the attorneys’ conduct, the group Lawyers Defending American Democracy has announced.
About 1,500 lawyers and counting have signed a letter condemning President Donald Trump’s campaign legal team, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, for spreading falsehoods and “a pattern of frivolous court claims” as well as working to undermine the 2020 election.
HuffPost features coverage of LDAD’s Open Letter calling on Bar authorities to condemn and launch investigations into President Trump’s campaign lawyers.
“You don’t need a law degree to understand that the clock may be ticking on some Trump lawyers’ licenses. Rudolph Giuliani and Joseph DiGenova are two whose conduct has raised questions about their fitness to practice law.” Co-authored by LDAD Steering Committee member Dennis Aftergut makes the case for disbarring Giuliani and DiGenova.
Arguing that “a license to practice law is not a license to lie,” nearly 1,500 lawyers issued a letter on Monday calling on bar associations across the country to investigate and, if needed, penalize the members of President Trump’s legal team, including the architect of his post-election strategy, Rudolph W. Giuliani.
When it emerged that Republican state officials from Michigan had been summoned to the White House in connection with President Trump’s already desperate struggle to unravel the results of this year’s general election, I thought of The Burghers of Calais. How else to capture their defeat—ironically at the hands of the leader of their own party, rather than some foe.
LDAD Steering Committee member Eugene R. Fidell writes, “Shakespeare’s “A Winter’s Tale” includes perhaps the most famous stage direction in the history of theater: “Exit, pursued by a bear.” The character pursued, Antigonus, comes to a bad end. Worse yet, it happens off stage.
LDAD applauds the New York City Bar Association and its President Sheila S. Boston for the statement it has issued in response to what they call “troubling and inappropriate conduct” by President Trump and his officials.
LDAD Steering Committee member Eugene R. Fidell wonders what must be going on in President Donald Trump’s mind as he files an “infinite number of lawsuits” in a futile attempt at a “Hail Mary.”
LDAD Steering Committee member Dennis Aftergut issues a call to arms: “If we survive this moment of danger, the US must attend to the difficult process of legislative, perhaps even constitutional, reform to prevent the next assault on democracy. In the meantime, we need an all hands on deck approach, mobilizing political leaders and civil society that the US has for a long time used to promote democracy abroad.”
LDAD Steering Committee member Dennis Aftergut co-authors an op-ed about the President’s shattering of time-tested norms — most recently, his refusal to facilitate the orderly transition of power.
Donald Trump’s presidency is ending the way it began: with a handoff between administrations that could have been smooth but is instead confused, mired in controversy, and less useful for good governance than it could have been. So argues LDAD Steering Committee member Eugene R. Fidell in a new op-ed featured in the The Bulwark.
Laureen Rikleen, LDAD Steering Committee member, issues a powerful, critical and timely call to action for leaders of our profession. “Our country is at particular peril if its lawyers fail to recognize their unique role in protecting democracy.”
LDAD Steering Committee member Dennis Aftergut co-authors a new article celebrating the citizens and leaders who have used their voices and platforms to stand up to the the President’s maneuvers to distort our most precious right—the vote.
Lawyers nationwide are demanding that their colleagues stop representing President Trump since he is falsely claiming widespread voter fraud and such unfounded allegations are in violation of his duties under the US Constitution. The Nov. 10 open letter is signed by more than 1,100 lawyers.
“The country and the world are watching to see how America responds to the President’s shameful attack on the legitimacy of America’s voting process,” the nonprofit Lawyers Defending American Democracy wrote in an open letter signed by over 1,000 attorneys this week.
“A group of 1,000 attorneys, including retired federal and state judges, state attorneys general and law professors criticized the Trump administration over baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election”
“Amid widespread condemnation and a protest called for outside the front doors of a New York law firm, the national bipartisan group Lawyers Defending American Democracy has released an open letter intending to increase pressure on attorneys and firms supporting claims of election fraud and calling out U.S. senators and the U.S. attorney general for what it characterizes as their complicity in obstructing the 2020 presidential election process.”
“Prestigious law firms are skating close to the ethical edge in filing lawsuits which undermine faith in the outcome of the presidential election.” So says a new Letter to the Editor by LDAD Steering Committee member Fred Lowenfels.
“The norms of democratic behavior must be restored. The divisions that have poisoned this country must be bridged. This calls for enlightened behavior.” LDAD Steering Committee members James McHugh and Stanley J. Marcuss author a new Op-Ed exploring what’s needed in the post-Trump era to truly make America great again.
“President Trump’s barrage of litigation is a pretext for a campaign to undermine public confidence in the outcome of the 2020 election, which inevitably will subvert constitutional democracy,” the letter says. “Sadly, the President’s primary agents and enablers in this effort are lawyers, obligated by their oath and ethical rules to uphold the rule of law.”
Two former presidents of the ABA are among a group of more than 1,500 lawyers who are calling for ethics probes of lawyers making claims of widespread election fraud.
An open letter from Lawyers Defending Democracy has been signed by more than 1,500 attorneys, law professors and officials in the legal profession, including some high-profile signees such as Laurel Bellows, a former president of both the Chicago Bar Association and the American Bar Association.
Hundreds of attorneys, including former heads of bar associations and retired federal judges, are calling for bar associations to investigate and condemn the lawyers behind President Donald Trump’s election lawsuits.
At least 1,500 lawyers—retired judges, law professors, DOJ alumni and two former presidents of the American Bar Association (ABA) among them—have called for bar associations to condemn Trump campaign lawyers and to investigate their post-election conduct.
LDAD Steering Committee member Dennis Aftergut co-authors an article urging the Supreme Court to resist the President’s attempts to use the court as his political tool. The future of our democracy depends on it.
It’s not too early to start thinking about repairing the damage to our democracy done over the last four years. On October 27, Lawyers Defending American Democracy, an organization with more than 2,000 supporters nationwide, did just that.
LDAD Steering Committee member Dennis Aftergut co-authors an article explaining why voters concerned about voter suppression and interference need more reassurances from FBI Director Christopher Wray.
Laureen Rikleen is a LDAD Steering Committee member and former president of the Boston Bar Association. In an article published by Bloomberg News, she argues the ABA’s criteria for evaluating federal judges is flawed. This process resulted in a “highly qualified” ranking of Amy Coney Barrett even though her views are contrary to the ABA’s own stated values.
In a letter to the Washington Post, LDAD Steering Committee member Stanley J. Marcuss points out the deeply disturbing aspects of the Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination and why the nomination poses a threat to the institution and reputation of the Supreme Court.
“As an open letter in support of current Justice Department attorneys and agents signed by a nonpartisan coalition of former prosecutors and judges, law professors, and practicing attorneys states that the American people need DOJ officials to ‘stand by their oaths and the Department of Justice’s duty to do justice for the public by not participating in partisan misuse of the DOJ.”
In their open statement, legal profession leaders have acted wisely—demonstrating their support for DOJ professionals who heed that call and refuse to stand by silently as a misguided Attorney General dishonors our Constitution,” write Frederick Baron, former associate deputy attorney general and director of the Executive Office of National Security, and Renne Public Law Group’s Dennis Aftergut, a former federal prosecutor and chief assistant city attorney in San Francisco.
A coalition of attorneys and judges on Thursday said they will support any Justice Department official who resigns or speaks out against what they say is “political misuse” of the department by Attorney General William P. Barr ahead of next month’s presidential election.
Former Department of Justice trial attorney Joshua P. Bogin explains why he was one of more than 800 signatories on an open letter supporting DOJ attorneys who stand up to partisan actions by Attorney General William Barr. The letter is aimed to help preserve public trust that DOJ professionals are not simply pawns of whatever administration occupies the White House.
Several hundred current and former attorneys offered their support for Department of Justice personnel who may feel uneasy about being used for Attorney General Bill Barr’s political agenda. In an open letter published Thursday, the signatories warned of “difficult choices” facing DOJ employees who are worried about “political misuse” of the nation’s top law enforcement agency as the 2020 general election looms in the none-too-distant future.
If mobilized to favor one candidate’s election success, the DOJ’s army of lawyers and agents could swing the outcome of a contested national vote against the people’s will.
On Wednesday, a group called Lawyers Defending Democracy published an extraordinary, open letter addressed to the 100,000 professionals working in the United States Department of Justice. This letter was signed by more than 600 members of the bar from across the United States, including three former American Bar Association presidents, three former state bar presidents, eight former federal judges, and four former state attorneys general.
Three former American Bar Association presidents, as well as several former judges and state and local bar leaders, are offering support to any Justice Department officials who resign or speak out against evidence of politicization in the waning weeks of the 2020 presidential election.
Hundreds of attorneys and judges are offering support to Justice Department officials who resign or speak out about what they say is “political misuse” of the department by Attorney General William Barr in the lead-up to the Nov. 3 presidential election.
Career lawyers should protest or resign like Dannehy to flag partisan misuse of the Justice Department in the election, our core democratic moment. So says LDAD Steering Committee member Dennis Aftergut in his latest Op-ed (co-authored with Frederick Baron, former Associate Deputy Attorney General and Director of the Executive Office for National Security in the Clinton administration) for USA Today.
LDAD Steering Committee member Dennis Aftergut co-authors an Op-ed in USA Today that asks, “Are there any circumstances when a court could deny an unopposed prosecutor’s motion to drop a case?” His answer – Yes, corruption.
Mark Meadows, the President’s Chief of Staff, says he is not concerned about possibly breaking the law in hosting the Republican Convention at the White House because “Nobody outside of the Beltway really cares.” In a letter to the Washington Post, LDAD Steering Committee member Stanley J. Marcuss calls this assertion “an insult to those living outside the Beltway.”
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has ruled that the Acting Head of the Department of Homeland Security and his Acting deputy occupy their positions unlawfully. LDAD Steering Committee member Stanley J. Marcuss authors a letter on the appropriateness of bypassing the Senate when doing the business of filling important government positions.
Lawyers’ complaint is shocking evidence of Barr’s mendacity and a warning for us: He’s America’s most important public lawyer, and we can’t trust him.
Today Attorney General William Barr is scheduled to testify before Congress. Meanwhile, less than a week ago, 27 nonpartisan members of the DC legal establishment, including four former presidents of the DC Bar, filed a disciplinary complaint for systematic violations of the canons of ethics by Mr. Barr.
LDAD Steering Committee member Eugene R. Fidell weighs in on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to permit Florida to keep hundreds of thousands of people formerly convicted of felonies from voting in next month’s primary elections.
In a small but significant victory for the rule of law, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. has decided to review a 2-1 panel ruling that Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former National Security Advisory, must be allowed to go free despite the fact that he lied to the FBI in its investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. This may not sound like a big deal, but it is.
A new D.C. Bar complaint details the pattern of alleged ethical violations taken by Attorney General William Barr in the last two years that showed political interference in the Department of Justice’s law enforcement decisions and damage to the morale of DOJ attorneys, says Joseph Rich, who spent more than 36 years working for the DOJ under attorneys general from both parties.
On Wednesday a group of distinguished members of the District of Columbia Bar forced that question by alleging that the attorney general has committed a series of serious violations of his ethical obligations as a lawyer. That the attorney general must be an exemplary lawyer is highlighted in the Judiciary Act of 1789, which created that position, and by subsequent codifications of the attorney general’s duties.
Calling the government’s retaliation unprecedented in his 21-year career, a federal judge ruled Thursday that Michael Cohen was unfairly sent back to prison for writing a book during home confinement. Lawyers Defending American Democracy, a group calling for Barr’s resignation as attorney general, filed an amicus brief in the case on Tuesday. Represented by attorney Christine Chung, the group says Cohen’s case is about extortion.
Four former D.C. Bar Association presidents are calling for an investigation into whether Attorney General William Barr violated its rules for lawyers practicing in the city. The four former presidents were among a group of more than two dozen D.C. bar members who sent a letter dated Wednesday to Hamilton P. Fox, who serves as disciplinary counsel, according to Politico.
More than two dozen Washington D.C. lawyers on Wednesday filed an ethics complaint against U.S. Attorney General William Barr, accusing him of violating his professional obligations as a member of the local bar. This article was authored and originally published by United Press International.
Four former presidents of the D.C. Bar Association have signed a letter calling on the group to investigate whether Attorney General William Barr has violated its rules. The District of Columbia Bar authorizes lawyers to practice in the city and has the power to punish them for breaking its rules and to revoke their law licenses.
It has been deeply disturbing to witness Attorney General William Barr persistently acting to undermine the rule of law over the past sixteen months. The administration of justice depends on lawyers honoring their ethical duties and playing by the rules, so the public can have confidence in the fairness and impartiality of our legal system.
Just before the Fourth of July weekend, the Supreme Court of the United States, by what has now become its customary 5-4 vote, granted a stay of a lower court decision that would have required Alabama to permit Alabamians to vote by mail without having their ballots notarized or attested by two witnesses. Big mistake.
Professors and deans at George Washington University Law School renounced one of their most prominent alumni on Tuesday, releasing a statement vilifying Attorney General William Barr’s conduct since taking up residence in the 45th president’s cabinet.
Congressman Waxman (1975-2015; Calif.) has released the following statement in support of LDAD’s Open Letter to States and American Lawyers to Protect Against Voter Suppression...
LDAD founder Scott Harshbarger and Steering Committee member Evan Falchuk author a new op-ed published by the Boston Globe arguing why the Flynn case is at the front lines of the most important battle of our time: that between the rule of law and law of the ruler.
A nonpartisan legal advocacy organization composed of attorneys and former federal and state judges filed an amicus brief on Wednesday defending U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan’s handling of the Michael Flynn case thus far. LDAD warned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that Flynn’s case presented issues of significant constitutional consequence.
LDAD Steering Committee member Eugene R. Fidell authors another persuasive op-ed for The Hill’s Opinion section. In it, he explores what it means for a President to foster the public’s confidence in government and the administration of justice.
A new Op-ed by Professor Laurence Tribe urges Judge Sullivan to move ahead and sentence Michael Flynn.
LAUROL is a nationwide, nonpartisan coalition of lawyers, legal scholars, and retired jurists dedicated to “ensuring that all persons in the United States receive fair and impartial justice.” In a letter to the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives, the group expresses their concerns about actions taken by the Department of Justice and the present Administration.
A statement made on behalf of former Department of Justice employees in response to the Department’s motion to drop the charges against Michael Flynn condemns President Trump’s and Attorney General Barr’s political interference, expresses support for the career employees of DOJ, implores Judge Sullivan to scrutinize the Department’s purported justification for dropping the charges, and calls on Congress to hold Barr accountable, including formally censuring him.
LDAD Steering Committee member Stanley Marcuss weighs in on President Trump’s refusal to let Anthony S. Fauci testify before the House of Representatives in a Letter to the Editor of The Washington Post.
LDAD Steering Committee member Eugene R. Fidell makes a powerful case in The Hill’s Opinion section. “ Law Day needs a facelift, and I suggest we begin by renaming it Rule of Law Day, because the Rule of Law itself — a phrase we usually employ when talking about other countries — is as much under siege as our society as a whole is because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
President Trump’s recent shake-up of agency watchdogs has his critics fuming, but legal experts say that federal officials fired for even apparently political reasons have little legal recourse. A group of legal heavyweights, Lawyers Defending American Democracy (LDAD), said Trump’s treatment of the inspectors general undermined the rule of law.
Attorney General William Barr’s intervention in the Roger Stone case and his efforts to distort the conclusions of the federal investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election make him unfit to be the highest justice official in the U.S., charges a letter signed by 300 leading attorneys, former judges, and bar association presidents.
A self-styled non-partisan group of lawyers and former judges continued a tradition of sorts on Tuesday by calling for Attorney General William Barr’s resignation.
Lawyers Defending American Democracy applauds the Boston Bar Association’s warning that the prosecution of Roger Stone poses a serious threats to public confidence in the Department of Justice and the rule of law.
LDAD applauds the statement issued today by the New York City Bar Association which calls for immediate investigations by Congress and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General in connection with the prosecution of Roger Stone.
Today, Lawyers for Good Government, along with Lawyers Defending American Democracy, Lawyer Moms of America, and Demand Justice will join together in solidarity to protest on the steps of the Supreme Court in an effort to demand that every United States Senator fulfill their duties and obligations to our country.
It is too often said that a Senate trial following impeachment is political, so the Senate can proceed in whichever way it chooses. Yes, the Senate is a political body, but that does not make an impeachment trial political.
By voting in favor of calling witnesses and demanding documents, Democrats will necessarily take the chance that the information revealed will help exonerate the president. If that turns out to be the case, so be it. At stake is not how best to achieve a preordained partisan result, but how best to conduct a fair trial.
Hundreds of lawyers have signed onto an open letter criticizing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for his comments saying the Senate’s upcoming impeachment trial does not have to be impartial. In the letter to the Senate, published Tuesday by the group LDAD, the lawyers said that McConnell’s “assertions cannot withstand scrutiny.”
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